Snipers are one of the many problems in urban warfare situations as well as on city streets. Snipers are difficult to locate making it difficult to protect VIPs, police and security personnel from sniper fire. Some conventional sniper-fire detection systems use audio sensing techniques to help locate the sniper after a bullet is fired, but these techniques are not very accurate and are difficult to implement. Furthermore, these techniques do not provide a way to stop the bullet. In some urban warfare situations, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), mortar, as well as other projectiles, present similar problems.
Some conventional radar systems have been used to track and intercept incoming projectiles, but these systems are not easily deployed in urban situations, are large, cumbersome, and expensive. Additionally these systems do not offer protection against a close combat weapon (e.g., less than 100 meters) due to the scan time of conventional systems including mechanical scanning systems and electronically scanning array (ESA) systems.
In some situations, radio frequency (RF) signal sources, such as mobile radars and hand-held-radios, or other communication devices, may indicate a possible threat to security personnel. The location, direction and/or signal characteristics of these signal sources would be useful to security personnel.
Thus, there are general needs for improved radar systems. There are also general needs for systems and methods that can help protect against sniper fire as well as other projectiles, especially in urban situations. There are also general needs for systems that can quickly and accurately determine the direction and/or signal characteristics of RF signal sources.